Hinge.



C. W. BRAlTHWAlTE.

HINGE.

APPHCATION FILEDMAY II 1916- LQUKQ'YU. Patented. Dec. 5,1916.

CHARLES W. BRAITHWAITE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HINGE.

eeaare.

Application filed May 11', 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES 1V. BRAITH- WAITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Hinges, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to hinges and has more particular reference to hinges for use on casement doors and windows and other similar places where it is desirable to hold the doors or windows in partially or fully opened positions so that they will not swing or slam.

Various holding devices in the form of adjustable arms or brackets have been employed for the purpose of holding swinging windows and doors of this general type in any desired position but such devices are not only expensive to manufacture and install but are also cumbersome and unattractive in appearance, and in addition they require special attention and manipulation when opening or closing a window.

My present invention is designed to embody the holding means which prevent the windows from accidentally swinging or slamming in the construction of the hinge by which the window is supported, so that no special appliance in the way of arms or brackets need be applied to the window.

Another object of my invention is to provide a hinge which will be simple in con struction, attractive in appearance, and economical to manufacture and assemble and which will yieldably lock the window in any position to which it may be moved and will hold the window against any ordinary force which may be applied to it, such as sudden drafts of wind and the like, but will permit the window to be opened and closed when desired without any special manipulation or operation.

On the accompanying drawings T have illustrated one preferred embodiment of the invention from a consideration of which, in connection with the following description, the construction, operation and many of the attendant advantages of the invention should be readily understood.

On the drawings-Figure 1 is a face view of a hinge embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and Figs. 1 and 5 are transverse sectional views Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

Serial No. 96,741.

respectively, of

11 adapted to rotatably fit within an upstanding flange 12 of the boss 9 as shown in Fig. 3, the two hinge members being swingingly connected together through their respective bosses by means of a hinge pin 13 passing through the centers of the bosses, and provided at its upper end with a removable screw cap 14: which clamps the bosses together.

The boss 9 is provided with a plurality of sockets 15, three being shown in the present instance, each adapted to receive a coiled expansion spring 16. A ball 17, preferably of hardened steel, is positioned above the open end of each socket 15 and is retained in position by a plate 18 forming the upper face of the boss 9 and provided with openings slightly smaller than the diameter of the balls 17 so that these balls will be projected by their respective springs 16 upwardly through the plate for a portion of their circumference. The plate 18 is securely fastened to the boss 9 by a plurality of studs or rivets 19.

Opposed to the upper face of the plate 18 is a plate 21, preferably of hardened steel, secured to the lower end of the boss 11 by studs or rivets 22, and the lower face of this plate is provided with a series of concentrically arranged depressions 23 adapted to receive the projecting portions of the balls 17. The depressions 23 are so spaced apart that the balls 17 will all simultaneously enter corresponding depressions 23, so that all three balls cooperate to lock the hinge members together.

When the parts are assembled, as shown in Fig. 3, the hinge pin holds the opposed faces of the plates 18 and 21 in proximate relation to each other and the yieldably projected balls 17, seated in corresponding depressions 23, serveto prevent relative swinging movements of the hinge members about the hinge 'pin. The resistance offered by it is desired to open or close the window' sufficient force may be applied to the free edge of the window frame to overcome the resistance of the spring-pressed balls. WVhen the window is swung the balls will '7 be forced out of their depressions 23 and as r they travel out they are free to rotate in their sockets, thus reducing the friction and wear on the parts during the operation of the hinge. lVhen the next succeeding depressions are brought into registration with the balls they will be forced into their corresponding depressions but swinging move ment of the window may be continued until it is moved to the desired position, since the balls are immediately forced out of their depressions if the relative swinging move 'ment between the hinge members is continued. When, however, the swinging movement is stopped the balls will enter their respective depressions and thereby yieldingly lock the members against swinging movement relatively to each other.

A hinge constructed in accordance with my present invention works quietly and easily while the construction affords a yielding resistance to movements of the hinge members which is suflicient to hold a window under ordinary conditions. It will be obviousthat the resistance can be varied by tightening or loosening the cap 14 and, if preferred, this cap may be pinned or otherwise secured to the hinge pin so as to prevent it from becoming accidentally displaced or turned relatively to the pin so as to accidentally vary the resistance of the hinge.

While the construction shown and described is practical and constitutes the preferred embodiment of my invention it should be understood that various changes in the structural details may be resorted to without departing from the essence of the invention, as set forth in the following claim.

I claim:

A hinge comprising a pair of relatively rotatable members, one member being provided with a concentric series of depressions and the other with a plurality of correspondingly arranged sockets, a ball-retainer plate rigidly connected to the socket member and having openings alined with but of less diameter than those in the socket member, balls in the sockets and larger than the plate openings and projecting there through, and springs between the balls and the ends of the sockets to maintain the balls in yieldable engagement with the plate and projecting through the openings.

CHARLES W. BRAITI-UVAITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

